No charges will be filed in bicyclist's death

No criminal charges will be filed in connection with the accident that killed psychiatrist Doug Rosoff while he was riding his bicycle on South Orchard Avenue in Ukiah.

According to the Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster's Office, a report completed by the California Highway Patrol's Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) "found no evidence of criminal negligence on the part of the driver of a semi-truck trailer" that struck Rosoff shortly before 8 a.m. Aug. 24.

The MAIT visited Ukiah twice to reconstruct what happened, and investigators said Rosoff's bicycle was "struck by the truck trailer as both bike and truck were turning right from East Gobbi Street onto S. Orchard Ave."

According to Eyster's office, the MAIT report "concluded that there was insufficient room between the trailer and the curb for Rosoff's bike to complete the turn."

"It was a tragic accident," said Assistant District Attorney Paul Sequeira, adding that he determined "no charges were warranted" after reviewing the Ukiah Police Department's reports and the "exhaustive, 59-page report prepared by five state investigators" with the MAIT.

UPD officers found Rosoff dead at the scene and located the dump truck that hit him about a block away. Dewey said the truck was headed to the intersection of East Perkins Street and North Orchard Avenue, where the former McDonald's restaurant was being torn down. The UPD reports that the driver, identified as Michael Mathews, 63, of Redding, "cooperated fully with investigators" and was not arrested.

According to Eyster's office, Mathews "told investigators he was unaware the fast-moving bicycle had come up alongside the vehicle when he began to make the turn onto S. Orchard Ave."